


operation jealousy

by tusktooth



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Jealousy, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusktooth/pseuds/tusktooth
Summary: When she notices that Beau and Yasha have feelings for each other, Jester decides to try to push them together by making them jealous. It doesn't exactly work out how she thought it would.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett/Yasha
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33
Collections: Critmas Exchange 2020





	operation jealousy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amrynth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrynth/gifts).



> happy holidays amrynth!  
> i hope you like this! i'm not exactly skilled with spicey stuff so i went for something more sweet and romantic instead. i peppered in a little bit of enemies to lovers but it's not super prominent. hope you're doing well!

“I think that Beau and Yasha like each other,” Jester whispered to Fjord from across the table as the two girls in question argued in the burger line at the cafeteria.

He snorted. “Yeah, I think you’re onto something.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, you think so too?”

Beau and Yasha were both on the women’s basketball team and, by pure chance, both part of Jester’s friend group. They had been self-proclaimed rivals since before the semester had even begun and, yet, there was something about their rivalry that didn’t seem genuine. For one, Beau had been talking about their so-called rivalry constantly when she and Jester were alone in their dorm room, all while complimenting Yasha’s physique in a weird backhand way. Also, Jester got lunch with Yasha after their Tuesday-Thursday class every week and, while she didn’t usually talk much, especially about other people, she always made a point to ask how Beau was doing.

But Fjord didn’t know any of that.

He shrugged. “I mean, it’s a bit obvious. They’ve been skirting around each other since the semester began. They have an interesting way of doing it, but that’s certainly what it is.”

Veth jumped into the seat next to Jester, clearly having overheard Fjord’s last comment. “Oh, we’re talking about Beau and Yasha?”

“So has everybody got it figured out?”

“Probably,” Veth said with a shrug. “Maybe not Caduceus but only because he doesn’t care. Though, he’s a pretty wise man so he’s probably put it together too.”

“We talked about it a few days ago,” Fjord added.

“Wow,” Jester said. “So everybody knows except them?”

“Seems like,” Veth said with a nod. “But what are you going to do about it?”

She thought about it for a moment. What could she do to get them together? Maybe she could invite both of them to dinner and awkwardly not show up but, seeing as they were caught in an argument in line for food, she wasn’t so sure that was the answer she was looking for. She could try locking them in a room together but she lived in the dorms and didn’t really want to make her Momma pay for the damages when one of them inevitably broke the door and whatever they were using to keep it shut. What she needed was a longer plan, something to force them to think about their feelings over time, then maybe she could try the dinner thing.

“I need to make them jealous,” she concluded. “If they really like each other then being bitter about the other being with someone else might be what we need to get them together.”

“So, you’re going to flirt with both of them in front of each other?” Fjord asked. “Usually, I wouldn’t think that was such a good idea, but with this situation, it might just work.”

Veth nodded in agreement. “You’ve got a naturally affectionate personality. You can definitely get away with doing some light flirting with both of them. The one that you’re flirting with will be oblivious and the other one will get incredibly jealous. Especially if they’re so caught up in their feelings for each other.”

“You really think this will work?’ Jester asked them.

“Absolutely,” Veth replied.

Fjord nodded. “I actually agree.”

“Okay,” she told them. “Let’s do it.”

* * *

Jester had started small. Little comments about things such as physique and fleeting touches on their arms went a long way, it seemed. She could feel both of them fuming over it which didn’t exactly make her feel the greatest, seeing as they were her friends, but was a sign that the plan was working. But she needed to amp it up and, tonight, she had her first “date” with Yasha, in Beau’s eyes at least. They were just studying together in a small cafe a few blocks away from campus, which was a fairly neutral activity, but not when you were caught up in romantic feelings, so it would seem.

Yasha had knocked on her dorm room door at the exact time they had agreed to leave for the shop. Beau grumbled something inaudible into her pillow as the two of them left for the coffee shop.

It was a beautiful winter day in Zadash. There was a small layer of snow covering the grass due to overnight snowfall but it wasn’t so bitterly cold that Jester, who was still mostly used to living in a semi-tropical city, was shivering in her boots.

Jester told Yasha a story about the Traveler as they walked. She had so many and, while Yasha was a follower of the Stormlord, she could tell in the way that she smiled slightly that she didn’t mind hearing stories about him. Yasha was a quiet woman but she seemed happy enough with Jester filling those small moments of quiet. Jester thought that maybe that was part of what made them such a good match as friends.

She ordered her usual, the most sugary drink on the menu, complete with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yasha ordered a medium chai and paid for both of their drinks, even though Jester’s was much more expensive.

“Are you sure?” Jester asked her as they waited. “I can pay you back.”

Yasha shook her head with a small smile. “I don’t mind. You can buy the drinks next time.”

Jester couldn’t help but smile at the thought of there being a next time. Sure, they had a class together that they studied for sometimes, but usually, they went to the library or just skimmed notes in the cafeteria over lunch. Going off-campus to study was something special and she would love to do it more often.

But, then again, was she really going to have a chance to once Beau and Yasha got together?

She shook that thought from her mind as they sat down together at a small table by the window and pulled out their books. They actually did have an exam coming up, so there was a lot of work to do.

It was a pretty productive evening. By the end of it, Jester felt like she was ready for their test and she felt just a bit closer to one of her friends.

The sun had set already when they began to walk back; it had been setting earlier these days with the approaching solstice.

Yasha reached for her hand and held it as they watched.

“This was super fun,” Jester said with a cheery smile.

Yasha looked down at her with a soft smile, her eyes glittering from the shine of the streetlights. “It was. I was surprised that you asked me, but I’m happy that you did.”

Jester raised her eyebrows. “You are?”

She shrugged. “It looked like you and Beau were getting pretty close, which is fine because she’s great. Like, we fight a lot, but I know she’s a good person. I like you a lot though and I’m happy that I got to go out with you.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

She didn’t think that Yasha would think that this was a date, even though it sort of was. But she did and now, well, Jester wasn’t sure what to do.

Yasha’s smile fell. “You like her, don’t you?”

“I-” she began.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a shake of her head. “If you like Beau, I understand.”

“No, it’s that-” she started. “I just don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t you take some time to think about it,” Yasha told her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and set off in the direction of the library.

Jester was at a loss.

* * *

She got dinner in the cafeteria with Caleb and Veth after that, not telling them much about the evening beyond that it was productive. Part of her thought about telling them everything but she wasn’t sure about having to explain the whole jealousy plot to Caleb since he was good friends with Beau. Maybe that was a sign that she shouldn’t be doing this at all.

Thoughts of the evening were still racing around her mind when she got back to her room, so much so that she partially forgot what the original goal of this whole date had been in the first place.

Beau burst upright on her bed as soon as Jester walked into the room. “You’re back.”

“I am,” she said slowly. “Did we have plans or something?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just- You’ve been gone for a while. How did it go?”

“Good,” she replied, deciding not to add any more detail. “I met up with Caleb and Veth for dinner after. We weren’t at the cafe this whole time.”

“Oh, cool,” Beau said with a nod.

“You’re being weird,” she noted with a raised eyebrow. It was a bit hypocritical, seeing as she was well aware that she was also acting pretty weird.

“What?” Beau asked, tensing up. “I’m not acting weird. In fact, I don’t think that I’ve ever acted weird in my life.”

She just crossed her arms over her chest and smiled.

Beau sighed and relaxed. “I guess I am acting a bit weird. I want to tell you why but I need you to promise that you aren’t going to be mad at me.”

_ She’s going to tell me she likes Yasha, _ Jester thought, unsure if that was actually going to upset her at this point. Well, she wasn’t going to be mad about it. More confused? Quite possibly. “I promise.”

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, reaching out to lightly grasp Jester’s hand. “I’ve wanted to say this for a while, I guess, but I didn’t really have the courage until now, until it’s too late.”

“I wouldn't be so sure-” she started.

“Jes, I have feelings for you,” Beau blurted out. “Like I always thought you were pretty but then we got to know each other more and I realized that you’re literally the most wonderful person that I’ve ever met in my life. I understand if it’s too late. Yasha is hot and awesome and I lowkey have had sort of a thing for her too but like you’re the one I choose, I guess. But if you choose her, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Beau-” she started but no other words came out. She was absolutely speechless for the second time in a day.

She dragged a hand across her face. “I fucked up, didn’t I?”

“No,” she replied. “You didn’t fuck up at all. It’s just that it’s a lot that I need to think about.”

Beau stood up and started to walk toward the door. “I should give you some space.”

“No!” she yelped. “You stay. I’ll go. I need to think about it and maybe taking a walk would help. I’ll be back soon. Probably.”

She rushed out the door without waiting for a response, feeling a sickness in the pit of her stomach. She had tried to play along with her friends’ feelings and now she was going to have to upset at least one of them, if not both. Maybe the Traveler would know what to do. Then again, she wasn’t sure that he was the person to go to for relationship advice, regardless of his godhood.

* * *

In the end, she ended up sitting across from Fjord on the floor of his dorm room, retelling her entire day from the moment her date with Yasha to when she walked into his room. He wasn’t exactly a relationship guru but he understood her friends as well as anyone and knew what was going on. She also knew that he wouldn’t judge her for anything.

“And how do you feel about all this?” he asked her when she finished her story.

“I just don’t know what to do,” she replied. “How could my plan backfire so badly?”

“Let’s not focus on what to do yet,” he advised. “Just a simple question: how do you feel about Beau and Yasha?”

“They’re both amazing,” she told him with a shrug. “They’re cool and nice and badass and beautiful. That’s why they’re perfect for each other.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But how do you feel about them romantically? Your feelings matter just as much as theirs do.”

Jester stopped in her tracks. She hadn’t really considered her own feelings in this. It was a big problem she had, actually. She got so caught up in helping her friends that sometimes she found that she was forgetting about herself.

She thought about studying with Yasha at the cafe that day and how much fun she had and she thought about all their lunches that they had together after class. She thought about how she was able to comfortably fill their quiet moments and about how Yasha listened to her more than anyone else. Her hand flew to her cheek, where Yasha had kissed her earlier.

But then she thought about Beau, who she had been living with all semester. She thought about the late nights that they stayed up chatting and how they always made each other laugh. They pushed each other out of their comfort zones in ways that allowed them both to grow.

“What if I like both of them?” she asked Fjord with a panicked look on her face.

He didn’t seem at all alarmed by her question. “Then you  _ tell them that _ .”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “But won’t they get mad? I have to choose at some point.”

“We’ve already established that we’re fairly certain that they like each other,” he reminded her. “And they both like you. And you like them. It seems like telling them could certainly cause the happiest possible outcome.”

“Like all three of us could date?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he told her. “I think it’s likely enough that it’s worth suggesting. The worst thing that could happen is that they could decide that it’s not best for them personally but then you can figure it out from there.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Okay, I’m gonna do it.”

“It’ll be fine,” he promised her.

She sent a text asking Yasha to meet her in her room so they could talk and dashed back toward it.

* * *

Jester waited until Yasha got to her room to start talking, even though it meant a few minutes of awkward silence passed between her and Beau. This was a conversation that required all three of them and she wasn’t going to start it until they were all here.

They sat together on Beau’s bed, quiet for once, as Jester sat on her own.

“You two both like me,” she started. “And I like both of you. But I think that you also like each other.”

A panicked glance was shared between the other girls.

“I mean, you’re very pretty,” Yasha started.

“It’s crossed my mind,” Beau said simultaneously.

“I think that we should all date,” Jester suggested to them. “Well, actually that was Fjord’s advice but I think it was a very good idea.”

Yasha and Beau looked at each other quietly for a moment, as if they were waiting for the other to reject the suggestion and then turned back toward Jester.

“I’m game,” Beau said with a nod. “If both of you are sure.”

“Same,” Yasha agreed.

Jester smiled and dashed across the room, hugging them tightly and pressing a kiss to each of their cheeks. When she pulled away, both of them were smiling as they reached between them to hold hands.

“I haven’t had dinner,” Beau admitted. “Jes, I know you’ve already eaten, but would the two of you like to go out with me tonight.”

“I’m hungry too,” Yasha said with a nod. “And two dates in a day sounds surprisingly nice.”

“I’ll come with and just get dessert!”

The three of them walked out of the room together, three identical smiles spread across their faces.


End file.
